Creative Retirement in Uncertain Times

Between now and 2010, almost 11 million Americans will shut the office, clinic, lab, school or plant door, never to return. With the average age of retirement in the United States hovering around 63 (U.S. Bureau of the Census), this out-migration is predicted to leave huge gaps in the workforce, particular in professions such as teaching, law, nursing, medicine, and in trades such as plumbing and electrical contracting (Segal Special Reports, 2001; Hewitt Assoc., 2001).

Will this prediction hold? Worries about the economy, shrinking retirement portfolios, and uncertainties about affordable health care are causing many pre-retirees to halt in their tracks (AARP, 2002). Can they afford to retire and cover the cost of unprecedented longevity? And even if they can, do they want to? For many, especially professionals, work provides a sense of identity and self-worth, generates a ready-made circle of friends and acquaintances, and supplies the funds to underwrite a comfortable and familiar lifestyle. But what about the freedom to fill each day as you please? Be your own boss?

Today’s 45-60 year-olds have few roles models as they confront a vast array of issues, options and choices about life after work. There are plenty of financial advisors and Web site calculators to help them do the math, but how do you calculate meaning, motivation, and life satisfaction? And how do you communicate your dreams to family and friends?

These are the questions with which people will grapple at a workshop entitled “Creative Retirement in Uncertain Times, to be held August 29-31, 2003 on the campus of the University of North Carolina Asheville. The North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement (NCCCR), the university’s award winning, lifelong learning, leadership and community service program sponsors the workshop.

The workshop builds on a similar three-day seminar held in March of 2002 when a group of 40 people from 14 states came to Asheville, N.C. to delve into “How to plan for a creative retirement.”

Through case studies, small group interaction, and lectures from experts, participants evaluated whether and when to retire, how to balance personal fulfillment with family and community obligations, ways to renew intimacy and communication when retirement brings added time together. In addition, they identified those values that enable them to stay vital as they navigate the physical, mental and spiritual challenges that come with age. In follow up interviews, participants shared their views and next steps, reflecting how a new generation is reinventing retirement.

Participants’ Views and Decisions

“I knew one thing for sure about retirement,” said Edwin McMullen, 66, a developer from Orlando who attended the workshop with his wife Pam, an interior decorator. “I wasn’t going to do it the same way as mom and dad. They flat out retired.” McMullen admired his parents for their community service projects and he supports many charitable causes. But the workshop convinced him of three things. “One, this is a period in which you can recreate yourself. Two, I have some great ideas for new types of housing developments which I want to explore. And, three, meeting the 40 other people showed me, I’m not the only odd dude out there who wants to continue to work but in new ways.”

“That was one of the great things about the workshop, finding out you weren’t alone,” echoed Judy Stonestreet, 56, of Farmington Hills, Mich., who attended the workshop with her husband Steve. The recently retired executive secretary from GM said she welcomed the camaraderie of fellow participants. “Going through case studies, role-playing, and brain storming sessions, we discovered that other people were as confused, excited, and uncertain as we were. That was both comforting and inspiring,” said Stonestreet.

“The workshop put us in a great frame of mind,” added Steve, 63, who just retired from GM where he was an engineering executive. “I appreciated the array of facts and the recommendation that we share our decision making process with family. We’ve already talked a lot of the issues over with our kids.”

One immediate result for the Stonestreets came through discovering that travel and learning were high on both their lists. “We picked up a travel-learning brochure at the workshop and immediately agreed, let’s use our new-found leisure time to take an educational trip to China. It was fantastic.”

“I tried leisure for 18 months,” said Sandi Anderson, 57, a psychotherapist. “My husband and I even moved to the retirement mecca – Florida. I was burned out on my job and retirement seemed a solution. But I felt this wasn’t the right move.”

For Anderson, the workshop confirmed her inclination: “I wanted to go back to work, but in a new place and in a new way. After she got home, Sandi sent out two resumes and received two offers. Sandi and her husband Gary moved to Atlanta where she now works in a recovery clinic as a family therapist. “The work environment is much better. We serve mainly professionals. Also, I’m taking classes to get certified in two sub-specialties of my profession,” Anderson added. And what about Gary? “Well, he’s still searching for what to do.”

Retirement: A Complex Process

“Retirement is a complex process, not a single event,” said Ron Manheimer, workshop co-leader and director of the Center for Creative Retirement. “As participants discovered, there are many decision to make and these, in turn, have consequences that are sometimes hard to anticipate. Your financial plan is in order but when you stop working you suddenly realize you don’t know what you’re going to do with yourself. Or you decide you want to sell the family homestead but the kids complain, ‘where will we celebrate Thanksgiving?’ Too often, people either do not plan ahead or they focus only on finances.”

“That was our problem,” said Cindy Thixton, 53, of suburban St. Louis. “I’m a financial planner and Vic (age 57) is a human resources director, so naturally we focused on financial security. That’s important. But so is the emotional side. That’s what we needed to talk about.” The Thixtons have given themselves the next 10 years to figure out which fulfilling activities they want their financial plan to make possible.

“We recommend people take classes in subjects they think will interest them, try out these projected future activities,” said Manheimer. “It’s better than harboring a fantasy until you retire and them discovering the reality doesn’t suit you.”

And what about the downturn in the stock market? “We’re not going to wait for it to come back up,” said Ken Kopesky who, at 57, is a vice-president at Minneapolis-based Medtronics where he has worked for 31 years. “My wife, Mary Ellen, had her heart attack eight years ago and I have high blood pressure. So time is precious. There are other things to enjoy in life besides work.”

The Kopeskys plan on moving in retirement and have a house under construction in a new residential community on Lake Oconee, east of Atlanta. “It’s a little bigger than our long time family home,” said Mary Ellen who just retired after 28 years with Medtronics where she was a finance director. “We’ve got five adult children and we want them to stay whenever they choose. Sometime in the future, we’ll consider downsizing.”

The workshop provided participants a chance to envision possible futures, and excellent company for trading ideas and sharing life stories, said Manheimer, the author of several books and numerous articles on midlife development and the changing nature of retirement.

The Big Questions

According to Manheimer, the Asheville Center’s staff of experts and several of their volunteer leaders who have successfully made the transition, have structured the 2003 workshop around seven sets of questions they believe every future retiree should consider:

• What is my image of retirement? Is it useful? Accurate?
  

• When is it time to leave my job and do I want to return to paid employment, possible in a second or third career? What are the opportunities and constraints?
  

• How do I balance my dreams and goals with family and societal responsibilities?
  

• Can the next step be truly revitalizing? What obstacles stand in my way and how can I overcome them?
  

• How will I structure my time and coordinate my schedule with my significant other(s)?
  

• Does my past pattern of dealing with change provide me with a good model or do I need to consider other approaches?
  

• How do I plan for a changing scenario? What is the first step in putting my plan into action?

“The workshop is intense,” said Manheimer, “after all, we’re dealing with the fundamental meanings people give to their lives. But we have a lot of fun, too. People tell us the workshop is invigorating and helps to make this time of transition an exciting, learning experience rather than one of anxiety about making the wrong moves, or even of boredom from counting the days until their retirement party.”

Manheimer emphasized that at the forthcoming workshop participants will explore the need to have more than one plan as a hedge against the major uncertainties that beset Americans. Despite these unpredictable factors, Manheimer was upbeat. “How often do you get to rethink what you want to do with your life? Maybe not since you were just out of college. And think of the life experiences and accumulated wisdom you bring to this choice point.”

For more information on the curriculum, dates, cost, faculty, and accommodations for “Creative Retirement in Uncertain Times,” visit the retreat Web site or call the Center for Creative Retirement at 828/251-6140.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Ron Manheimer, N.C. Center for Creative Retirement Director,  828/232-5180